Many types of guide-like instruments are known for orthopaedic surgery. In particular, fixed cutting guides are applied to the exposed bone during knee surgery in order to guide saw cuts of the bone in particular predefined planes.
Currently, not all devices available for aiming or guiding an oscillating saw blade allow the surgeon to achieve a flat, accurate cut unless certain forces are applied to certain surfaces of a cutting block or guide. Devices available with a capturing mechanism for saw blades that will allow for precise bone cuts have fixed slots or guides through which the saw blade passes and is firmly and accurately guided into the correct plane. These devices, although accurate, are generally larger and heavier than devices that do not offer saw blade slots and can actually obscure the surgeon's vision of the saw blade while cutting. Other devices available allow the surgeon to add on guide plates to a flat cutting guide. This is done by assistant while the surgeon attempts to hold the saw blade flat against the cutting surface. The most skilled surgeon who chooses not to use captured cutting guides or finds them cumbersome to use must have a set of guides available to him without slots. This most often means increased instrument inventory and added cost to the hospital as a set of unslotted instruments must be maintained for such surgeons, while slotted instruments are maintained for the remainder of the surgeons.